Fynn last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Fynn is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Fynn.

Meaning of Fynn

A surname originating from Irish, meaning "fair" or "white".

Fynn, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Fynn surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Fynn in America

Fynn is the 120901st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Fynn surname appeared 143 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Fynn.

We can also compare 2010 data for Fynn to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 120901 135837 -11.64%
Count 143 114 22.57%
Proportion per 100k 0.05 0.04 22.22%

The history of the last name Fynn

The surname FYNN is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic word "fionn" which means "fair" or "white". It is believed to have originated in the 12th century as a descriptive name for someone with fair hair or a pale complexion.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval Irish annals and manuscripts. One notable example is the 14th century Book of Lecan, which mentions a "Fynn Ua Cuirrin" as a chieftain of the Ui Cuirrin clan from County Cavan.

In the 16th century, the name FYNN was particularly prevalent in County Clare and County Limerick, with several prominent families bearing the name. One such family was the Fynns of Ballyshanny, who were landowners in County Clare during the Tudor period.

The FYNN surname is also associated with several place names in Ireland, such as Fynnevara (meaning "the summit of the white man") in County Clare, and Fynns Cross, a townland in County Limerick.

Some notable individuals with the surname FYNN throughout history include:

  1. Sir John Fynn (1515-1587), an English soldier and explorer who served in Ireland and is credited with the first English settlement in present-day South Carolina.

  2. Robert Fynn (c. 1594-1666), an English Puritan minister and author who served as a chaplain in the Parliamentarian army during the English Civil War.

  3. Edmunde Fynn (c. 1634-1701), an Irish Catholic landowner and member of the Irish Parliament in the late 17th century.

  4. Patrick Fynn (1752-1832), an Irish-born soldier who fought for the British during the American Revolutionary War and later settled in Nova Scotia.

  5. Thomas Fynn (1854-1919), an Irish-born politician who served as a member of the New Zealand Parliament for the Lyttelton electorate from 1902 to 1908.

As the surname spread beyond Ireland, various spelling variations emerged, including Finn, Fyn, and Fynne, reflecting regional pronunciation and orthographic differences.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Fynn

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Fynn.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Fynn was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 33.57% 48
Non-Hispanic Black Only 64.34% 92
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Fynn has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 33.57% 57.02% -51.77%
Black 64.34% 40.35% 45.83%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic (S)% 0.00% (S)%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Fynn was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Fynn, please contact us.

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Fynn last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/fynn-surname-popularity/.

"Fynn last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/fynn-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Fynn last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/fynn-surname-popularity/.

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